[2989] in WWW Security List Archive
competition heats up
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (offerextended@socialsecurity.com)
Thu Sep 19 03:21:48 1996
From: offerextended@socialsecurity.com
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 01:21:22 -0400
Apparently-To: www-security@ns2.rutgers.edu
Errors-To: owner-www-security@ns2.rutgers.edu
"Have you ever had a microchip implanted in your skull so the government
can keep track of your every move? You will! And the company that will
bring it to you is AT&T... with the help of Lexus-Nexis!"
Service still provides sensitive information
By Rose Aguilar
September 18,1996, 5:30 p.m. PT
[INLINE] The Lexis-Nexis is still providing sensitive personal data on
its widely used information service, three months after saying
publicly that it had withdrawn the controversial feature, CNET has
learned.
Lexis-Nexis said it pulled a service called the P-TRAK Personal
Locator on June 12, a day after CNET reported that dissemination of
the numbers could increase the potential for fraud and other illegal
activities. But subscribers can still receive the same amount of
information, by typing in a Social Security number, Lexis-Nexis
executives confirmed today.
Allowing subscribers to search with a number is just as bad, said
David Sobel, legal counsel with the Electronic Privacy Information
Center [www.epic.org].
"It raises almost as many concerns as working the other way," Sobel
said today. "I can't foresee the circumstance in which somebody would
have a Social Security number and have a legitimate need to tie a name
and address to that number."
The P-TRAK service provides its 740,000 subscribers with 300 million
names, previous and current addresses, mother's maiden name, birth
date and telephone number.
Sobel and other experts on privacy law and related issues expect to
see a backlash against the indiscriminate sale of personal
information, especially as consumers express increasing concern over
the global reach of the Internet and its contents.
The wide availability of such information has raised legal and other
concerns. A number of criminal acts have been based on illicitly
obtained Social Security numbers, ranging from credit card fraud to
illegal immigration.
Lexis-Nexis is not alone in cataloging such information, but its
marketing efforts has made it stand out from the rest. A mass mailing
sent in June described P-TRAK as a service that "puts 300 million
names right at your fingertips."
"It's not as if Lexis-Nexis is the first private database to contain
Social Security numbers," Sobel said. "It's just that this was the
first mass marketing of that kind of information."
International Research Bureau provides Social Security numbers to
[www.irb-online.com/default.htm]
[www.irb-online.com/servicesfull.htm#socsectrace]
"people who qualify" for $13 through the regular mail. This service
provides "whatever is available" within one day to whomever sends in a
number to be checked.
Lexis-Nexis executives claim that they have five competitors in this
field, including CBD InfoTek and West Publishing Information America.
The issue has drawn a wealth of bad publicity for Lexis-Nexis, which
has been known as a reputable and reliable source of information for
many individuals and corporations, including news organizations.
In an effort to persuade Lexis-Nexis to pull the feature altogether,
email has flown across the nation over the last few days urging
Netizens to take action. The message reads: "I suggest that we
inundate these people with requests to remove our information from the
list and forward this email to everyone we know."
Individuals interested in having their name removed from the P-TRAK
file can fax their full name and address to 513/865-1930, but
Lexis-Nexis has no legal obligation to fulfill requests.
Legal restrictions on the use of Social Security numbers apply to the
federal and state governments, but not the private sector, according
to Sobel.
"The private sector has free reign," he said. "The only effective
means of curbing the practice in the private sector is through public
opinion, and I think we're seeing that being expressed here."
Sobel hopes it will set an example for companies with similar ideas.
"I think the whole practice is going to become a lot more
controversial now and the reaction that Lexis-Nexis has gotten should
give pause to any company that even thinks about doing it," he said.
How do I take my name off the P-TRAK service?
[www.news.com/Rams/September_96/9_18_96/pt9_18.ram]
Rules issued for online privacy
Research service raises privacy fears
Service pulls Social Security numbers
Snooper's how-to stirs coals
[this full article available at www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,3608,00.html]
